Quite a while ago, I posted a recipe for a very popular Chinese comfort food consisting of Eggs Stir-fried with Tomatoes. In that post, I noted that various additional ingredients are often added to give a little umami boost to the dish. My wife, for instance, adds Oyster Sauce which is very tasty, although it does give the ages a rather dark appearance. I eventually hit upon the idea of adding Korean fermented shrimp and we like that very much but the product is not easy to come by and our last batch, which my wife brought back from Korea, is now long gone.

I decided to revisit the basic theme using Conpoy (dried Scallop) as the umami additive and it worked very nicely. Instead of tomatoes (having none on hand) I used scallion, and I also added just a bit of chili paste for a little sparkle…

The Method

First, put the conpoy in a small bowl and cover with boiling water (about a quarter cup, or so). Allow this to cool and then quickly whiz the lot in your food processor.

In a suitable bowl, mix the cornstarch with just enough water to make a smooth paste and then add the sugar, salt and pepper along with the eggs. Beat until frothy and then stir in the scallion and chili paste.

Heat a little oil in a pan over moderate heat and the pour in the egg mixture. Allow the bottom to just begin to set and then, slowly, start folding the mix in on itself to form large ‘curds’. When everything is just about cooked through and still just a little moist, turn into a heated dish for service.

This is very much a Chinese sort of preparation and would make a nice breakfast by itself, or as one of several dishes in a more substantial meal. Nothing limits you in the form of service, however, and my wife and I enjoyed it as a ‘side’ for a brunch of steak with bok choy.